A Family that Prays Together Stays Together

Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC was a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross known for the inspirational phrase “The Family that prays together stays together” was declared Venerable by Pope Francis in 2017.

Here is a narrative of what transpired on February 24, 2025 starting at 7 in the morning till the following day, February 25 at 5 in the afternoon.

After our daily mass at St. Williams Cathedral on February 24, we proceeded to the Sea and Sky College. I printed the table of contents of our website at 7 a.m. noting down what Jeremiah, will print. Starting at 8, she informed me that she was done and asked for the two, lacking documents, script of the Jubilee 2025 Pilgrimage and Peace for the Ortega and Bolong Family.

I told her it was not yet ready for printing as we twins were still working on Luz’ separate book, “Fatima Story”. I was glad Gerald, a graduate of Sea and Sky College who works as a security guard arrived at 9 p.m. for his night shift. He assisted in transferring photos from the cellphone to the documents.

At 4:48 a.m. Luz took the picture of Gerald at the computer, then with Nila at his side supervising. Finally, I captured Luz’s smiling face at the sofa bed.  

However, a few minutes later, came our nightmare. We were working on pages 86-97, only 11 pages left to finish our work, when x’s appeared on the screen. I closed the computer to restart, but the X’s did not disappear. We twins embraced each other, feeling too bad about what happened.

Gerard, suggested that we stop working for a while because, the computer could be overused. We followed his suggestion but then, I was tempted to stand up and re-start the computer. The X’s were still there. But through divine intervention, after so many attempts, the X’s disappeared and finally printed all the pages at 5:45 a.m. Happy, we proceeded to St. Williams for the mass death anniversaries of Mama Rose (February 25) and Manang Emily (February 27).

The mass at 6 a.m. set the day right. After mass, we proceeded to the school again. Pressured, Luz gave in to my request that we go over the script and was glad the editing was over. It was followed by the narratives for the Family Peace of the Ortega and Bolong Family. Done by 2 p.m. I in- structed Jeremiah to have it bound. We had our prayers at 2:30 p.m. God rewarded us for our perseverance paid off. Arriving at the Evaristo-Rosa Home, we were met with a brotherly kiss from Steve. He was going out to buy for our snacks. 

The prayers were led by sister Flor. It was a surprise for her usually shuns long prayers, and now there was rosary, a litany and then the family decided for prayers to be held the following day, February 26 for papa Evaristo and on the 27th for manang Emily. We enjoyed our chat among siblings and snacks shared. 

At 2:45 p.m., there was a text message from Jeremiah saying, “ma’am yan na po”, showing a photo of the documents printed. Rushing home at Luz’ residence for the grotto visitation by the Confraternity of Our Lady of Lourdes, it was a delight that although a little bit late, Luz husband Danny was around the house to greet the Lourdesianas. 

To my dear siblings,

We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always [attentive] to our prayers".

Thus, mama interceded for us to finish our website documents and showed their happiness for remembering them on their death anniversaries. God allows our departed loved ones to see events on Earth and intercede for us. February 28, Luz and Jeremiah came to Vigan and we three met Ritchie, our web designer and his assistant Kyle Chua. After presenting the work they have done so far, we were glad of their output. And now, the surprise!

Ritchie said that the website will be finished on March 28. Indeed God manifests his approval of what we are doing. March 28 is doubly significant. It is the birthday of St. Teresa of Avila. Teresa de Ahumada y Cepeda was born in Avila, Castile, Spain, on March 28, 1515. Her parents were of a very high estate, her father being a rather wealthy merchant. Teresa was the "most beloved" among her nine brothers and sisters.

March 28 is also our baptismal date. We were baptized Maria Luz Monica Ortega and Maria Nila Luisa Ortega on March 28, 1954. In 2015, we remember with great joy our joint anniversaries celebration at Avila, Spain when we attended the 5th birth centenary of St. Teresa

In closing, we would like to share this saying, “A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.” This means that when your heart is full, incredible things come your way. Have you ever had a time in your life when everything is just going especially well, and you're so happy and grateful for all of it?